It can be a struggle to assess the proper funding levels, relative to current use, for marketing technology investments. When evaluating a martech ecosystem, or establishing a business case for new martech purchases, proper funding and full utilization are critical elements of a successful martech foundation. CMOs struggle to demonstrate the return on this spending, which is one of the largest line items in any modern marketing budget. Gartner research shows tumbling levels of productivity for tech investments in marketing, with utilization rates falling from 58% in 2020 to all-time lows of 42% in 2022.

Our research suggests CMOs aren’t keen to tackle the operational reasons these technologies aren’t being used, or address the known flaws in their existing stack. Rather, they are hoping to acquire new, pristine solutions to capture the proven ability of martech to streamline marketing operations and improve efficiency. 

From a budgeting perspective, CMOs should focus on developing elements of the technology stack that can demonstrably improve marketing outcomes and drive the stated marketing strategy. Martech strategy more broadly will need to focus on optimizing the use of both existing and new marketing technology to boost ROI. Decide if new tools should be purchased or additional features used within existing tools by mapping existing technology to accomplished and desired business outcomes.